


clawing down alone

by Niki



Series: Fear of Ghosts [4]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2013-12-30
Packaged: 2018-01-06 18:43:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1110257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niki/pseuds/Niki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Commander, there's some Major to see you.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	clawing down alone

Lieutenant James Vega was of two minds about his duty these days. On one hand it was demeaning to have him guard a guest room. 

On the other hand that room contained the saviour of the galaxy times two, Commander Shepard, Butcher of Torfan and Bahak, legend during his lifetime. If any other officer had done what he had done, they would be in an actual prison, waiting for a long and public trial. Or had gotten a bullet to the brain long ago.

Commander Shepard was under house arrest, in a nice room, and by all accounts getting bored out of his skull. He seldom had visitors, unless they were of the official kind, so the officer marching toward his position in the corridor was both a surprise, and yet not really. 

The man was in his thirties, his dark hair turning grey in the sides over his tiny sideburns. He was in uniform, in good shape – though nothing like James himself – and his unscarred face belied the battleweariness in his eyes. 

“Major Alenko,” he said and came to a halt in front of the door James was guarding. “Here to see Commander Shepard.”

“Is this an official visit, sir?” he asked because sometimes people did just come to gawk. 

“Not really, no, but I do have Admiral Anderson's permit,” said the man, smiling.

“Uh-huh.”

James knocked on the door, then opened it. 

“Some Major here to see you, Commander,” he said. Prisoner or not, as far as it was up to him, Shepard was allowed to choose his visitors.

“You up for some company, Seth?” asked the Major, and the figure by the window turned around with a smile like James had never seen on his face.

“Kaidan!” 

The Major was smiling wider, too, and walked into the room. James had just time to see the Commander pulling him into a hug before the door closed. 

Apparently he was an old friend, then. He'd never heard anyone refer to Shepard by his first name before. Well, that could only do good for Shepard's mood.

\- - -

The Major came back a few days later, and James knocked on the door again before letting it slide open. 

This time Shepard seemed to have been expecting the visitor, because before the Major had time to walk in the room, he was hauled in bodily, Shepard's hand fisting in his shirt, and the Major went, laughing. 

Okay, that was... something. But at least it meant the visitor was good news, and it let James worry a little less about the mental state of his charge. 

This time he stayed longer, and... was his hair that ruffled when he showed up? What were the men doing in there, wrestling? Knowing Shepard's reputation he wouldn't have been surprised to hear that. 

“You coming back, sir?” he asked this time.

“If I can, I'll be off planet for a while. You take care of the Commander, Lieutenant.”

“That's my job.”

\- - -

Alenko didn't show up for weeks, but the good mood he had left the Commander in seemed to last, at least at intervals. 

Then came the day when the defence committee called Shepard to a sudden meeting. 

“You know what this is about?” he asked James, who could only shrug. The call had come from Anderson himself, so it had to be important. 

They met the Admiral in the corridor, and the light banter he and Shepard exchanged made James blink. Of course, they served together in the past. But to have that kind of a relationship with an Admiral? Whoa. 

They also ran into Major Alenko. 

“Major! Didn't know you were back on Earth,” said Shepard. 

“Yeah, just arrived. How are you doing?” They shook hands, nothing of the laughter and closeness in their expressions now. 

“Dying to know what's going on.”

“Well, good luck,” he said, and nodded to both the Admiral and the Commander. 

“How do you know Shepard, anyway?” James asked after the other two had walked away. 

“We served together on the Normandy SR-1.”

“You were there when he took down the rogue Spectre who was trying to take over the Citadel?”

“Yeah, I was there. Bit more to it than that, though. You do know about the Reapers, right?”

“I've heard Shepard's stories, all right.”

The Major was about to say something more when suddenly the whole building shook and sounds of explosions were all around them. A piece of a wall fell on James, and he went down with it. He might have passed out because the next thing he knew the Major was helping him up.

“The Reaper invasion has started!” he shouted. “We have to get to the Normandy.”

“Wait, what about...”

“Shepard and Anderson will rendezvous with us. Grab a gun and move!”

\- - -

It all happened very fast, fighting their way through weird creatures to get to the ship, then flying to meet with the Admiral and the Commander, and then, suddenly, they were leaving and the Admiral wasn't.

“What the hell is going on?” he demanded. “I wanna stay and fight!”

“Don't you think I don't?” Shepard asked, almost growling. “But my superior officer just gave me an order, and I'm obeying. As your superior officer, I'm giving you an order, and if you don't fucking like it, you can hitch a ride back when we get to the Citadel.”

He turned to face the Major, then, who by all rights outranked him.

“What about it, Major? You willing to work under my command?”

“I've done some of my best work under you,” said the Major with a straight face, but his eyes were glittering with humour that seemed out of place for the situation. 

It calmed Shepard, though, and he even smiled. “Cheeky bastard.” 

\- - -

Serving with Commander Shepard was... an eye-opening experience. Seeing the man in battle was quite something, and the Major's biotics were a sight to behold, too. Not that he got to admire them too much before being sent to guard the perimeter while they went deeper into enemy territory with the hot blue scientist – who also seemed pretty proficient with biotics. 

Then seeing the great man to nearly come undone at the sight of the injuries on the Major... Shepard was such a fucking mystery to him. He obviously wasn't the callous killer the extranet painted him as. Well, he was, but then again he wasn't, because he obviously cared about his friends and civilians. 

Still, leaving the unconscious Major in the hospital in Citadel, Shepard was all business, as effective as could be. Even if they then found themselves docking on the Citadel whenever they could justify a visit in any way. Joker seemed to be plotting some fairly complicated routes just to give that justification to the Commander. 

Well, what ever made him keep going. Palaven was a blow to the morale, and then the Commander had to play in politics instead of concentrating on what the marines did best: fighting. Seeing the Commander in action in the war room was still a sight. Who in their right minds could have considered a treaty with the Turian and the Krogan even possible? A head-butting and shouting Commander, that's who.

It wasn't until much later, after the Major had been made only the second ever human Spectre, after they had stopped a Cerberus invasion of the Citadel and the Major had joined them in the Normandy, that James finally joined the dots. 

The men were lovers. Not that they were flaunting it, even now, but he really should have realised it sooner, because the Commander fought like a man who had something to protect.

And, yeah, the fact the other man spent every night in the captain's cabin was a pretty big clue, too.


End file.
